#LOUDMINDS

Loud independent stances can only come from a state of silent introspection.

Created and Produced by RM810 

True creatives. What does it really mean to be one?

Back in December during winter break, I received a picture message on my WhatsApp from my roommate and creative partner. It was an advertising campaign brief for Dazed Magazine presented by Design & Art Direction (also known as D&AD). This is where it all started. 

For weeks onwards, my roommate and I would meet up 1:00 PM every Saturday (or at least we would try to keep the date...) and try to answer the inevitable lingering question. A research professor once told me: "If you're given 10 minutes to answer a brief, you should spend 9 minutes understanding the problem, and 1 minute solving it." I think it's safe to say that every weekend from then on, was spent thinking about how we wanted to differentiate the true creatives from the self-proclaimed "creatives" that exist in the online world. The white walls of our living room soon became the blank canvas for a collage of blue and green Post-its. As part of the brief, we also needed to capture the independent spirit that Dazed has birthed since their founding in 1991. How Dazed declaring independence shouldn't be such a hard problem to solve right? They're one of the most bold and rebellious magazines on the news stands today. Straight up talks about the things people fear to mention in public, uses their name to bring difficult topics into an open conversation. Dazed has always been different. But that's precisely why this brief struck us with a chord we couldn't decipher. How were we going to present a unique idea that would not only inspire their audience, but the Dazed creatives themselves, to an already beautifully authentic brand? Most importantly, how were we going capture all this in just 15 seconds? Did I not mention we had to create unique content for Dazed social media?—Ironic, right?

While juggling classes, a part time job, and something called a social life, this project continued to take hold much of our energy and time. After much planning, a well thought out 2-day photoshoot soon took place. All of a sudden, we were an advertising agency, a production team, and a film studio all at once. Luckily, our friends helped make our strategy soon become a reality. From the true creative artists who would become the heart of our concept, to our assistants on set, to the friends who shared their spaces and skills, we were undeniably grateful for all the help we got. We were nearing the half-way mark and we had come up with a team name (hi, we're RM810), and found a song that would keep us motivated even in the struggliest of times (2001 Space Odyssey opening song). Before we knew it, we were staying up week nights at school finishing up projects and spent weekends at home editing until dawn. 

Wednesday March 16, after yet another night spent staying up until 6:30AM, the videos were submitted to D&AD. It wasn't easy as Murphy's Law always has a way of finding the most stressed out creatives to annoy at the last minute; within the four walls of Maria's small room, a series of website crashes, errors, and export failures took place. Silent prayers were being made, and tears were being held back. Problem after problem, after problem. But if these past few months full of group projects and countless collaborative meltdowns have taught us anything, it's to never let go of that string of hope especially when you've worked so goddamn hard.

#LOUDMINDS